A Motion - re: The Term "Assault Rifle"

[gbw]

What they're called, and who calls them what, is meaningless to everyone.

What we do know, and what does have meaning to pro and anti alike, is that when these mass shootings happen the people doing the killing are likely using ARs, AKs, and Glocks, with the largest oversized magazines they can find.

What we also know, pro and anti alike, is the murderers use these guns and these mags because they are the ones best designed for killin the most people in the least time - assuming they want to do their killing it in person, and for some reason nearly all of them do.

So call the weapons what you will. Who cares. If it keeps up, if we cannot find some other way to stop this, sooner or later, and my bet is sooner, we will not be allowed to have either those guns or magazines. And the Supremes will not interfere.

 

[Warp]

What they're called, and who calls them what, is meaningless to everyone.

Unfortunately this is not true.

 

[45_auto]

What they're called, and who calls them what, is meaningless to everyone.

If you observe closely, you may notice that this thread is 5 pages long and there were 100 posts before yours. Must mean something to at least 100 people.

 

[nswtex]

I agree with several others here. The only name I have for ANY of our rifles, when speaking generally, is 'your rifle' or 'my rifle'. As in, this one is mine.

 

[ArfinGreebly]

Agreement

Clearly, we are all in agreement.

"General Purpose Rifle" (GPR) it is, then.

 

[CZguy]

Clearly, we are all in agreement.

I better re-read the whole thread.

 

[One_Jackal]

Walmart now calls guns that would be considered assault rifles, "modern sporting arms" maybe we should follow the lead of Walmart. I am sure that Walmart did a lot of research to come up with the term modern sporting arms.

 

[michaelbsc]

Walmart now calls guns that would be considered assault rifles, "modern sporting arms" maybe we should follow the lead of Walmart. I am sure that Walmart did a lot of research to come up with the term modern sporting arms.

WalMart does an outstanding job of putting a positive image on any product. Regardless of what it is, Barbie dolls or AR-15s.

Modern Sporting Arms sounds great. But what about the GPR name?

 

[Warp]

If Walmart is going with a term we find acceptable we should go with it.

It's not like one or two or even five threads on internet message forums where people try to decide on an alternative are likely to have any kind of significant impact.

Might as well go with "Modern Sporting Arms" because it hardly seems objectionable and with Walmart doing it, it's likely to catch on to an extent anywa

 

[ErikO]

I'm willing to go political on this one. Modern Musket is my term of choice.

 

[Warp]

I'm willing to go political on this one. Modern Musket is my term of choice.

But it isn't a musket, at all. It is a rifle.

By "go political" do you mean "intentionally misrepresent facts"?

 

[9thchild]

I recently witnessed a murder trial and the term was used by the prosecution over and over. I cringed each time. If it were my case, I would have made a motion before trial in hopes that the judge might not let them use an incorrect term just because socialist legislators have.

They also called two 7.62x39 pistols and an SKS "AKs" the entire time.

These terms are simply incorrect and there is no doubt in my mind that they are prejudicial to defendants.

 

[DavidMS]

I think it comes down to history

I hate the tern "assault weapon" because it has no definition. I know what an "assault rifle" (more properly sturmgewehr should be translated as storming rifle) is (a rifle that light enough to be carried by an individual soldier that fires an intermediate cartridge in the manner of a machinegun). I know an "assault gun" is generally a WWII-era armored infantry support vehicle that mounts a forward firing cannon.

Given that civilian derivatives of assault rifles generally fire intermediate cartridges and are lightweight rifles, why not call them carbines? For instance, an AR15 carbine or an AK carbine.

There are no good choices.

 

[Bullz]

Dicks sporting goods now sells and markets these types of guns as "Modern Sporting Rifles." I second that terminology as others have already noted. The term "Modern Sporting Rifle" insinuates that those who are opposed are antiquated. Makes me smile on the inside.

 

[CZguy]

The term "Modern Sporting Rifle" also happens to be accurate, and correct.

It gets my vote.

 

[W.E.G.]

I like "bullet hose."

Real shooters understand.

 

[labhound]

I enjoy shooting all my handguns, my 22LR rifle, and my shotgun. I'm an NRA member, a strong believer in the 2nd Amendment and I would consider myself a gun enthusiast. I have however a very limited knowledge of AR-15's, AK-47's and EBR's as up until recently they have just not interested me. I've read many threads about them on this board and others and I just started doing a little serious research on them and until I read this thread I thought EBR was a type of rifle just like a AR-15 or AK-47. I had no idea it meant "Evil Black Rifle". My point is if it took a pro gun person as long as it did to realize what EBR meant then IMHO there is no chance the anti-gun people or the press will ever make an effort to figure out what an "assault rifle" really is. We can call it anything we like and we can debate it with the anti-gun people till we're blue in the face, but it's always going to be an assault rifle to them.

 

[justice06rr]

+10000 on "Modern Sporting Rifles/firearms".

Lately I have seen a steady influx of different AR15's at my local SuperWalmart, where a large percentage of my county's population shops. They had a Colt, Bushmaster, Sig, DPMS, and S&W. They even started carrying shooting accesories like stocks, holsters, etc.

They do not have AK's though, and probably for good reason as they're always seen as the Bad guy's gun.

 

[Eric M]

It's a semi automatic rifle. The features that the gun banning squad don't like aren't even particular to things like AR-15s or AKs so it's silly to think up names for them other than what they are.

 

[DNS]

I agree with Sam1911.
Homeland Defense Rifle.
Might as well have something out there with "Homeland" in it that actually serves a purpose.

 

[CountryUgly]

....."This is my BOOMSTICK!".....?

+1 on the BOOMSTICK....(how can u not love Bruce, that guy was hilarious) but during conversations with family and friends about firearms they have a natural tendency to show more interest in and refer to my black guns and their Russian counterparts as "Assault Rifles". I correct them, and explain that they are not assault rifles because of the lack of "Fun Mode" (even though my lowers and their markings may suggest that they may be capable of this alas they are actually not) and that I refer to them as my "LEGO Guns" (this term also includes my 1911s and Glocks) because of their vast versitilty and interchangability. The term "LEGO Gun" and what it implies has set a few folks at ease around them when they finally viewed my firearm for what it was for me in my situation (basically a toy dangerous yes but a toy none the less) instead of a killing machine.

 

[Sam1911]

I like "bullet hose."

Real shooters understand.

I completely agree! I like to be able to say, "I shot a 193-6x in the prone stage of the across-the-course match last weekend with my BULLET HOSE!"

Just really sums up so much.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

I first came into acquaintance with the term "assault rifle" through W.H.B. Smith's "Small Arms of the World" in the 1960s and his use of terminology was in accord with standard military usage from the 1940s on.

Assault rifle (derived from the German term "sturmgewehr" or gun for storming (an enemy position)) meant a select fire, semi-or-full-auto compact rifle firing an intermediate cartridge, more powerful than a pistol but less powerful than a full-size rifle or machinegun, intended to replace both the submachine gun and the battle rifle in infantry service.

An assault rifle is a select-fire military weapon like the StG44, AK47 or M16. Period.

As far as I am concerned labelling semi-automatic replicas of military assault rifles (like most civilian AKs and M4geries used for defense or civilian marksmanship practice) or semi-automatic sporting rifles derived from the military rifle designs, like the Saigas and many AR rifles on the market today, as "assault rifle" or "assault weapons" is granting a propaganda victory to the anti-gunners.

"Assault weapons--just like armor-piercing bullets, machine guns, and plastic firearms--are a new topic. The weapons' menacing looks, coupled with the public's confusion over fully automatic machine guns versus semi-automatic assault weapons--anything that looks like a machine gun is assumed to be a machine gun--can only increase the chance of public support for restrictions on these weapons. In addition, few people can envision a practical use for these weapons." --Josh Sugarmann, Assault Weapons and Accessories in America, 1988

I refuse to particpate in corruption of language for political purposes. An assault rifle must have full-auto capability to be an assault rifle.

 

[ArfinGreebly]

"Sporting"

At the risk of repeating myself, let me make mention of this "sporting" thing again.

While it is certainly attractive to have a "non-threatening" name for a rifle, let us not forget the whole point of our enshrined right to bear arms.

"Sporting" has nothing to do with it. Yes, it's true that sporting was always assumed, it is not for the amusement value that a right to bear arms is protected.

I am in complete agreement that "assault" is inappropriate with regard to civilian arms, especially as the control freaks seek to slather on the "criminalization" effort.

Home defense, national defense, sporting uses, and general utility are all completely valid applications, and not one of them involves "assault."

I'm kind of a fan of "reflected projection."

Some control freak starts getting shrill about "assault weapons," my inclination is to ask who he's planning to assault, since he seems to be able to conceive of any other application.

Always question the motives of someone who seeks to slander guns, gun owners, and gun ownership. Dude, what kind of government are you planning for that requires a disarmed population?

Don't get seduced by the idea that your gun has to have "legitimate sporting purposes."

 

[Drail]

Education is the problem. If people don't know what something is but are told that it's EVIL then they believe that's all they need to know. We also really need to require "just the facts" from the media and stop allowing them to be a ministry of propaganda and brainwashing.